In Australia, 122,000 cars were stolen in 1996 and this figure has since increased by approximately 9% each year. Likewise, insurance claims on car theft, currently at approximately $500 million per year, are also likely to increase at a rate of 9% per annum. These escalating costs represent just some of the problems inherent to the system operating in Australia today, costs that are ultimately absorbed by the public. Improving the current method of policing alone could pass on significant savings to the public in terms of lower vehicle registration and insurance fees.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus which may ameliorate some of the above disadvantages.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided license plate apparatus attachable to a vehicle, said apparatus comprising a housing which is attachable externally to said vehicle and adapted to carry vehicle licence information, a transmitter within said housing which can transmit the position of said vehicle to a satellite or to a telecommunications base station, and sensing means within said housing for activating said transmitter in the event that breach of, or tampering with, said housing is sensed.
In one form, the housing is airtight and is pressurized or depressurized, and the tamper evident means comprises a pressure detector which activates the transmitter if the pressure changes in the housing, such as upon breaching of the interior or by deformation of the housing say by a collision or due to other tampering.
In a further form, the housing is airtight and may contain a gas and the tamper sensing means comprises a gas detector in the housing which will activate the transmitter upon sensing a breach of the housing and thus loss of gas say due to a vehicle collision or tampering with the housing or apparatus.
Where the housing is pressurized or depressurized, or contains a gas, the housing may include a pressure valve which may be the receptor and release valve for the purpose of pressurizing the interior of the apparatus or supplying the gas to the housing.
A heat sensing means may also be provided in the housing which will activate the transmitter upon sensing a temperature in excess of normal ranges, such as upon fire in the vehicle or external heat application during attempted tampering with the apparatus.
An activatable and deactivatable motion sensing means may also be provided in the housing which, when activated, will activate the transmitter upon sensing unauthorized or unexpected motion of the housing.
The housing may also incorporate a camera lens which may photograph or capture visual images at the front of the housing.
Suitably the transmitter is connected to an antenna in the housing and is interfaced to a global positioning system in the housing from which position information may be derived for transmitting to the satellite or telecommunications base station to identify the location of the vehicle.
Suitably the housing includes a first part having visual information thereon comprising license plate information and a second part of similar dimensions to the first part and being cooperable with the first part. The first part may be connected structurally and electrically to the second part. An internal locking system may be provided within the housing for selectively locking the two parts of the housing together and enabling unlocking of the two parts of the housing.
The first part suitably comprises a fascia formed say of a transparent or other material and the second part may comprise a hollow open fronted casing formed of metal, plastics or any other material.
The housing suitably contains the sensing means, and a series of associated programmed or programmable microchips for monitoring the sensing means.
The apparatus may also include an electronic bar code inside the housing for discrimination by a bar code scanner.
The exterior of the second part of the housing may have attached energy cells electrically connected to a battery within the sealed interior of the housing for power supply to the components and devices of the apparatus. The energy cells suitably comprise solar energy cells.
The housing may also include an option port protruding to the exterior of the housing from the interior for the exchange of information between the programmed or programmable microchips within the housing and an external computer. The option port may also provide for the supply of power to the components and devices within the housing from a power source of the vehicle such as the vehicle battery. The option port may also provide for connection to an in-car immobiliser to immobilize the vehicle if tampering with the housing or any other unauthorized event is sensed.
The option port may also provide for connection to an onscreen display inside the cabin of the vehicle. The option port may also provide for a connection from the camera lens inside the housing to any film or display apparatus inside the vehicle. The option port may also provide for entering information into the programmable microchips so as to activate the locking or unlocking device between the first and second portions of the housing whereby the locking or unlocking devices may be activated remotely.
The transmitter may transmit various forms of information to the receiving authorities, including visual information, electronic information from the bar code, electronic information by access through the option port and electronic information from a global positioning satellite.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides license plate apparatus for a vehicle, said apparatus comprising: a sealed housing adapted to carry vehicle license information; a global positioning system and a transmitter within said housing, and sensing means associated with said housing for activating said transmitter for transmitting a position signal derived from said global positioning system to identify the position of said vehicle when breach of or unauthorized tampering with said housing is sensed.
The housing suitably comprises first and second cooperable parts, the one part comprising a planar portion carrying the vehicle licence information and the other part comprising a hollow open fronted casings adapted to be closed by the one part.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides apparatus attachable externally to a vehicle for identifying the location of said vehicle, said apparatus comprising means for carrying vehicle license information; geographical position identifying means and transmitter means supported rearwardly of said vehicle license information carrying means; and means for sensing tampering with said apparatus, said sensing means causing said transmitter means to transmit the position of said vehicle derived from said geographical position identifying means when tampering with said apparatus is sensed. The transmitter means may transmit the vehicle position to a satellite or telecommunications base station.
The apparatus may also include motion sensing means which activates said transmitter means upon sensing unauthorized motion of said housing. The apparatus may also be connected to a vehicle immobilizer and include a camera lens for capturing visual information forwardly of the apparatus. The geographical location identifying means may comprise a global positioning system (G.P.S.).